AI will eliminate certain roles, but will create more jobs: Deloitte

AI will replace people with people, contrary to the common narrative, Deloitte’s AI Executive Rohit Tandon said, emphasising that the future belongs to AI-human collaboration, not replacement, as he envisions a revolutionary era where technology empowers, rather than replaces, the workforce.

In an interview with PTI, Tandon, Managing Director, AI and Insights Practice Leader, Deloitte LLP, said AI will not snatch jobs, but will simply do away with some of the easier jobs, and create new roles.

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“AI will, with people, replace people… It’s not just AI replacing people. You still need humans in the loop,” he said.

Tandon said the same kind of fear of job roles getting wiped out existed when IT, technology, and computers came into the scenario.

“But just look at how many more jobs have been created across the globe because of IT. The same thing is going to happen with AI. It’s going to be all-pervasive, just like it is today, just like you have some of the biggest supercomputers that exist today available on your phone, some of the most powerful AI algorithms will be at your disposal, in your purses, and in your wallets, in your pockets.

“It’s going to be something that we talk about just like the way we talk about it or not talk about it, it just becomes a part of our lives,” he said.

He said this is not the first time when a new technology has come and threatened job losses.

“We’ve done this before with automation, call centres, etc. We’ve automated some of the easier stuff. What it leaves behind is tougher problems for humans to solve.

“It will lead to job changes. AI will be replaced by AI with humans. If you look at the pyramid of jobs, AI will start automating more of the easier jobs that are done,” he noted.

People will use AI to supplement their knowledge and their ability to find information and share that back and serve the population, he said.

“It will eliminate certain roles. But it will create more jobs than it will eliminate,” Tandon said.

He said shared services — that exist across all sectors — are the first ones to be impacted by AI.

“Finance, HR, and some of the shared services pieces. What we’re seeing is energy, from an industry perspective, is taking on some very interesting use cases, which have a wide impact,” he said.

Tandon shared an instance of how using computer vision, AI, and the ability to compute and process quickly, has enabled to identify and manage wildfires.

Consumerisation, banking, and hospitality are some of the other sectors that are utilising the power of AI, he said.

He further said setting up guardrails and regulations for AI is important, but they should be dynamic in nature.

“There will be businesses that will initially feel that they are being cramped, but their appreciation over time with these regulations, what it means for them in the medium to long term, they’ll only be full of gratitude and appreciation. I would advise that these should not be point-in-time regulations.

“The pace at which AI and Gen AI are moving is so fast, we’re learning every day. I’m studying harder than I did in school or college right now.

“These have to be dynamic regulations. These have to be active forums that are continuously evaluating, poking holes in what has been built, and strengthening them,” he said.

This can only be achieved with the government and enterprises coming together, he added.

Tandon further highlighted the government’s role in AI adoption and implementation, and said the government should act as a catalyst, and not the owner.

That’s how you can accelerate that and take it across the globe, he said.

“I allude to two pillars: computing capability. I think the government has to play a big role in making sure that is available. With that compute capability there will be a requirement for a huge amount of power because these GPUs are power-hungry. The government will have to help enable that.

“Grassroots-level training, availability of knowledge, and being able to get that in a wide population is going to be also very valuable,” he said.